Olympic Council of Asia withdraws Asian Games recognition for Kho Kho

Two new sports Dodgeball and Jump rope has been recognised by OCA.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has withdrawn the recognition of Kho Kho, a sport which was originated in India. It was due to the failure of the Asian Kho Kho federation to report its achievements to the board.

The Chairmen of the OCA Committee, Mr. Song Luzeng, said: “Over six years has passed, and the Asian Kho Kho Federation has not informed the OCA of any of their achievements. We wrote to them and asked them to submit a report, but they have failed to do so. The OCA provides recognition in order for a sport to grow and develop, but we have not received any feedback from Kho Kho."

He further told the executive board that an online meeting of the OCA Sports Committee on May 29, 2023, had heard detailed presentations on the sport of Jump Rope and Dodgeball.

“Our Committee agreed to grant this provisional recognition to both sports, and now we present it to the Executive Board,” Song added.

The Executive board has given the approval and the request has been made to the General Assembly on July 8.

Kho Kho was originated in the Maharashtra region of India and in the ancient times was played on chariots and was called Rathera. The present version of Kho Kho, played by individuals on foot, originated in 1914 at the time of the first World War. It was also demonstrated during the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi and the first-ever Asian Championship was held in Kolkata in 1996. It was also a medal sport at the South Asian Games 2016 in Guwahati. Currently, almost 25 countries have their national Kho Kho teams.